Darkest Fears, Brightest Desires
by Over Worked Witch
Summary: Rachel's trust in Ivy is absolute, Ivy doesn't even trust herself. When a simple run turns into an ordeal Rachel finds out that are far worse things in the world than an angry vampire pinning her to the door. Rated M for intense Ravy situations and story
1. Chapter 1

Rachel pulled up to the church far later than she had intended when she left and with a pricey cab ride to show for it. Getting rid of couple of squatters took longer when they were warlocks that didn't want to cooperate and simply vacant the property. The fight was short lived and by the time everyone cleared out the place didn't seem all that worse for wear. No one even mentioned taking the cost of a new door out of her fee, which was a pleasant surprise.

Typically, bad luck followed behind her like a less amusing version of Jenks, but in the last couple her runs were starting to go remarkably. They were even getting fewer calls with job offers that were likely just made up in hopes she would accept so someone would kill her and even some of those actually worked out. "Or when I get there and a couple of squatters turn out to be three warlocks."

Tired, sore and more than a little hungry the redheaded witch put her bag on her shoulder and walked into the church. Typically she would be sure to offer a friendly smile and wave to her neighbor to show she was more alive than usual, but it was an odd moment in time where most intelligent beings, interlander, or human, were enjoying the comfort of their beds. The last couple of weeks for their little group included screaming lunatics, spells thrown at her with threats of bursting her internal organs on contact and Ivy's aggravation that an emergency call about people being tortured came from a drunken idiot at a karaoke bar.

Although, in his defense, it did sound like the woman on stage could be mistaken for a banshee from what she could hear on the phone over Ivy's irate shouting. Combined with her trips into the Ever After it was shaping up into a practically normal month in comparison to the rest of their lives, though that did not make her body any less bruised.

Being lost in her own weary thoughts it did not really occur to her that a familiar sensation was crawling up her spine. The church was completely dark inside. If someone had made an effort to cover the windows it would have been pitch black. Why, no one should be up to greet her that did not make the feeling any easier to ignore.

Doing her best to keep a calm façade with deep breaths and deliberate head movement why her hand slipped for the splat gun poorly placed in her bag. Rachel could feel her actual nerves starting to shake, but she wouldn't give fear the satisfaction of making her hands twitch. This was her home, she shouldn't have to be afraid and why that didn't entirely ease her concern it helped knowing there was an arsenal in her kitchen and a ley line in her backyard.

She didn't hear, or see, the shape move; it was her skin that caught the movement of the air coming behind her. Quickly dropping the bag on the ground and turning to shoot whoever was stupid enough to invade her home had been the entirety of her plan and it failed rather fantastically as the tight coiling of fingers around her wrist caused the gun to drop. Her amulets wouldn't be much good in the dark, but her left hand was free and she was still standing. Throwing her fist at what she assumed was the area of someone's face worked to get her other hand free, but her attack only struck the air.

Rachel figured the rapid increase of her heart rate, her breath sticking in her lungs until it was finally forced out and pain in her wrist staying long after the physical separation took place could only mean one thing and that only spurred her on more. She wouldn't summon a circle and any precision ley line magic to subdue her target would take longer than it would for her attacker to close the physical distance between them. No, she would regain control over the situation without magic, assuming she could avoiding get killed in the process.

The first attack came from her left and she deflected it easy enough, but she recognized a feint when it happened. The second was from behind her, just as quick and lacking in commitment as the first, but she almost missed the kick aimed at her left leg. It had forced her away from her bag of tricks and if it hadn't been for the knee she threw after her block the fight might have ended right there and then.

Now though, with the door to her back, her eyes adjusted there the clear outline of a shadow. It moved as if it was a predator circling its prey, except this was not about necessity. Rachel knew this hunger was personal. There wasn't enough light to actually see who it was, but she had been through this dance with vamps before and her roommate would be the only one waiting for her in the church.

"Ivy, whatever is going I need you to listen to me."

"You're home late." By now Rachel didn't even notice Ivy's inability to listen to reason when she got overwhelmed. The vamp would say whatever she wanted and at some point that would include a vague resemblance to an understanding that things weren't right. It just required a deeper understanding of the woman to decipher when exactly that would happen.

"Ivy, calm down and we'll talk this out."

"I think you enjoy making me wonder if you are alive or dead." The vampire kept her eyes fixed on the witch, never stopping her movements as they spoke. "You don't do recon ahead of time, you set arbitrary deadlines when the run will be over and you never call for help when you get in over your head."

She was tired, she was sore and frankly a little pissed off that they were having an old argument again. None of which was helped by her roommate stalking around her like a damn lioness. Life was just grand. "I do not need you tell me how to do my runs."

The conversation had put Rachel into a pattern and Ivy had her against the hard surface of the front door before she could break it. "You could have prevented all this if you just stopped by for longer than thirty seconds." Ivy made certain Rachel's dangerous hands were behind her back before leaning in to take in the witch's heavenly scent. Most of what masked Rachel's fragrance had been lost through the course of the day and the vamp could feel her head swirling as she slowly inhaled. "I almost went into your room tonight, but I wanted to be down here when you walked through that door."

"Things got a little more complicated after I got to the job. You know if I was in serious trouble I would have taken a line home immediately." Probably not true, but being pressed between Ivy and the door didn't seem like the best time to start being completely honest. The vamp was in a position to do whatever she wanted right now and Rachel really didn't want to acknowledge she really had been through worse. The anger over Ivy ambushing her after the hellish day she had been through was there and the witch tried to focus on that feeling in her gut instead of the one that had settled slightly lower. Anger would keep her level headed whereas the other thing would have her tilt her head so she could feel Ivy's breath on her neck.

"Always taking risks, never thinking ahead, and having to show off how incredible you are even when it is going to get you killed." Ivy nuzzled the exposed length of collarbone as she spoke, immensely enjoying the combination of their scents just starting to mix together and the softness of Rachel's skin. More than anything else, it was reassuring that her witch was home safely.

"Ivy, I want you to let my hands go." She didn't intend on hitting the vamp, with a spell or otherwise, but she needed something from her roommate that showed the woman was still in control. Somehow, her brain settled on stopping the discomfort in her wrists instead of the warm lips grazing along her skin.

"No." Rachel's hands had a tendency to push instead of pull and Ivy didn't intend to be pushed away. Her witch's skin felt so good against her, how could she ever stop touching it?

Rachel felt a warm soft tongue languidly make its way from beneath her collarbone to the underside of her neck. The feeling harkened back memories of that first night where Ivy's warm saliva made her skin burn, the time where she was seconds from giving fully into Ivy request to become her Scion, the first time the vamp drank from her as those longer fingers went up her ribcage and when Ivy kissed her. So yeah looking back there were some warning signs over their time together that things weren't exactly platonic between them.

Her body had lost control of the anger as the old memories brought back familiar sensations. What was it that Ceri had called her that one time? Stupid, ignorant, witch? Well, that certainly seemed to fit given ten minutes ago she would have blasted someone into the Ever After for claiming she would be enjoying Ivy's remarkable talents and pushing for that overwhelming love to overtake her tainted aura again.

Ivy for her part just attempted to keep focused at the task at hand. Not easy when she wanted to stake herself for abandoning a plan to wait up and just check on the witch to see how things went with training, but Rachel pressing against her didn't help. Everything had changed when Rachel didn't show on time. In their church, they were always so close to being one that Ivy couldn't consider the redhead anything except her partner. Their relationship was just different from most that was all. Realizing her witch lived in another world where vampire strength and status meant nothing ripped that simple plan to shreds.

Stupid and rash were Rachel's trademarks and Ivy had to come to accept that as part of just who Rachel was, but that didn't make her the easiest woman to live with. Training with a demon in a land where no one could reach her was bad enough, doing that then coming in late from a run was completely unacceptable. At first, her thoughts were to get to after the witch no matter what, but after reminding herself Rachel could take care of herself and had her own protection against crazed interlanders eased that fear. What really had set her off was realizing Rachel would come home acting as if it was no big deal. "Tsk tsk, naughty witch getting me all worked up."

Rachel moaned, not quietly, not half-caught in her throat, but a full on, someone was going to be murdered if they interrupted this, moan. The attraction to Ivy had always been there in some form. It was impossible not to look upon perfection dressed in leather and without a mark on her after beating the hell out of some ghoul and not be impressed. Being between the vamp and a door, or a chair, or the floor, with those black eyes locked onto hers just had a way of bringing it to the surface.

The redhead's reaction to that simple comment was more than she could have hoped for and as Ivy moved her bare thigh in between Rachel's leg and brought the witch against her body she wanted more. It was like that first pull of her blood all over again, except this time she wasn't nearly in as confined of space for her pheromones to be affecting the witch, let alone triggering blood ecstasy. Rachel enjoying the thrill of danger and sex had been obvious for a while, sort of annoying habit when not on the receiving end of it really, but now it was just incredible to witness and they were just getting started.

Each little noise her dear heart made, the ever-increasing rate of her heart, and the unmistakable rush of blood to sensitive areas she had wanted to explore for so long told her this was right. If the witch wasn't enjoying the attention than she would eat her leather boots, though there were hopefully more tasty things waiting in her future. God, she could smell Rachel's blood practically boiling.

She wanted to claim those lips with her own, she wanted to tear off the shirt and get to the pale skin beneath. She wanted to taste every inch of the woman before slipping into her. She wanted to claim her. No one else should have her. They weren't worthy and they would hurt her. If Rachel left her protection the others wouldn't know what a wonder the witch was and they would make her run away forever.

That wasn't going to happen. There were two people left in her life that meant more than the rest of the world to her and the one was a living vampire with their undead mother watching over her, Rachel didn't have those luxuries. That made the witch her chief concern and Ivy could feel thousands of years of tradition whispering how best to protect her dear heart from the evils of the world.

As her lips moved over the old scars she had left on the otherwise flawless skin, Ivy knew there were others that did not belong. She could make them go away. There would be her mark, and no one would leave another. Rachel would truly be safe wherever she went, even if she had to follow the witch into the Ever After. Rachel would be free to love her and she could show Rachel how much she truly loved her. How could something that sounded so perfect seem so wrong though? Why did the feelings begin to slip from her when they were so close? Somewhere in the haze she heard the witch's pleas, but they weren't the same as before.

"Please Ivy." Somewhere along the way Rachel felt herself pass go and whatever she collected was a hell of a lot better than 200 bucks. She wasn't even sure what she was pleading for, but Ivy would, no matter what the circumstance Ivy knew her better than she knew herself and Rachel trusted in that.

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><p><strong>There it is, my first Hollows story, set in loosely in the time line of after BMS yet before Pale Demon. I am in no way going to profit from this, nor do I intend any theft of anything except the time of those that read this. I've simply had some ideas for this amazing duo in my head for a while and figured I'd share them for those that were interested. Rachel and Ivy fully belong to Kim Harrison, the grammar mistakes on the other hand belong to me.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Ivy pulled away from Rachel just far enough to truly study her witch. Rachel's red hair was a mess, the lips that she wanted nothing more than to feel against her own were parted and the woman's cheeks were flushed pink. She was stunning, but it wasn't right. When this happened Ivy had wanted it to be Rachel's choice. She wanted to see those green eyes staring back at her, showing her that Rachel felt the same away about her as she did for the witch. Instead, those eyes hide from her search, with Rachel sealing them away as if the slightest glimpse of their entanglement would turn her to salt.

She was moments away from destroying the woman's life and if she didn't stop now there wouldn't be a force powerful enough to make her stop. Ivy lowered Rachel back to the ground as quickly as she dared before releasing her grip on the woman and slowly pulling away until there was several feet between them. After a final glance to make sure the woman wasn't hurt, a dangerous action considering how incredible Rachel looked, Ivy headed straight for her room.

The first thing Rachel noticed was the sudden chill on the wet spots Ivy had left on her skin. Where in a heartbeat before there hadn't been enough room for the air to slip between them, suddenly she had all the space in the world. Her eyes opened to only the harmless shadows without her roommate anywhere in sight.

Following the familiar path from the entryway of the church to the bedrooms Rachel did her best to keep her steps light and her heart rate low. Chasing after Ivy after she ran off was never considered a good idea, but then again, according to most people, living with a vampire, leaving the I.S. and practicing demon magic wasn't a good idea so what did they know.

Reaching the hallway she wasn't surprised to see Ivy's door shut and a complete lack of light escaping from behind it. Either Ivy was seriously worried about their electric bill, doubtful, or she had been so wrapped up in worrying about a stupid witch that couldn't call home to check in that she had forgotten to turn on the lights. Out of the two Rachel figured it wasn't the exorbitant wattage per hour rate that trigged the living vamp's instincts.

"Ivy, you okay?" Her plan had gotten her as far as Ivy's door, but didn't have anything in it about how to actually deal with the situation. When there wasn't a response Rachel moved closer to the door. If Ivy had left the church, she wouldn't ever forgive herself. "Ivy, please talk to me."

Ivy had heard Rachel approaching with what the witch would consider quiet steps. Even if the redhead figured out how to become invisible and levitate, Ivy would know where she was in the church. It was when Rachel left the church that Ivy worried as the world didn't creek like the old floors and Rachel's scent was muttered by hordes of people, fumes and the very air itself. Still, the last thing she needed was her witch refusing to let the incident drop.

"I'm fine, just go to bed." Bracing for the fallout so soon after the fight wasn't ever an easy task and not helping matters was that Rachel was between her and any way out if things got out of hand.

"You sure?" In an odd sort of way, Rachel understood the distinction vampires made for the sick and injured. She could very well push her roommate into pushing her against something and finishing what they started, but that would be taking advantage of someone that was completely defenseless - an act of cruelty so previse only the undead, demons and lawyers were willing to inflict upon the world.

"Yes." She hadn't bitten Rachel so no harm, no foul. How long it would remain that way with Rachel filling the hall on the other side of the door with her scent was a different matter. Taking several steps back would probably help with that as well, but Ivy found her feet stuck in place as her head rested against the door. Everything she wanted from Rachel was waiting for her, within arm's reach, but she had to remind herself to admire it from afar.

"Maybe I should go out for a while." Where she would exactly drag her sorry ass off to Rachel didn't have the slightest idea, but she hoped Ivy wouldn't let it come to that. She just needed to see the woman, to explain why she was late and maybe apologize for not being more considerate. Using Ivy's concern that she might leave was playing with fire, which probably wasn't a good mix with vampire instinct, but it wasn't like Ivy was going to open the door for anything else.

"No. Don't leave." Ivy felt her breathing becoming sporadic and it had nothing to do with forcefully opening the wooden door to her room. She wasn't going to let Rachel leave the church, not when she was just as likely to buy a one way ticket to the West Coast as she was to come back in time for breakfast with pricey bottle of wine and an armful of groceries for dinner.

Rachel found her brain suddenly busy with other things than forming intelligent thought patterns to explain to Ivy what exactly happened between leaving the church and coming back. Ivy's robe wasn't tied and without it the nightie was far from hindering her view of Ivy. Mere moments ago she only had sensations and memories to work with. Seeing Ivy standing there made it rather difficult not to regret the vampire putting a stop to things. She hadn't exactly gone celibate in recent months, but it suddenly felt like Ivy's kiss was the last contact anyone had with her body before the vampire pushed her against the door.

"Rachel, stop it." Ivy slowly pulled her robe closed, careful not to scare Rachel and really make things worse. All that was keeping them apart was Ivy's years of practice at backing away when Rachel dragged her to the edge, Rachel triggering her hunger on top of everything else would be too much and something would have to give. It was tempting to cross the line and figure that the witch would be happy with the results. It was only the fear Rachel would run off once the thrill disappeared had kept her from following the witch to bed, with no intention of either of them getting some sleep, in the past and it stopped her again.

"Sorry." She had lost count of the number of times Ivy had to snap her out of a trance, which was an incredibly embarrassing realization. It is one thing for a situation to spin out of control, but failing to remember how many times her female roommate had to tell her to stop leering at her wasn't as easy to explain away.

"Just go to bed. It has been a long day." Certain Rachel would do as she was told by the way the she was scuffling her right foot and fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, Ivy left her witch standing in the hall and closed the door. Compared to the hall the room seemed lifeless, but at least it was safe.

"Good night Ivy." Feeling a lot like the idiot Ivy probably thought of her as, Rachel found her way to her room a minute later. Changing into shorts and a camisole before collapsing onto the bed, the witch pulled the blanket over herself and tried to sort out the crushing depression, anger and less-than platonic feelings Ivy had managed to set off in her. Exhaustion put a stop to her efforts within a matter of minutes.

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><p><strong>So there it is. Chapter 2. I just want to take a moment and ramble about how great it has been to see all the support from those of you that have left reviews, requested alerts and added this to your favorites has been. I never figured the first chapter would be of interest to anyone, let alone get such a wonderful response from so many. The next few chapters already have some writing done and I hope to have the updates coming in more frequently, particularly the 3rd chapter.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

"Ivy?" Rachel found herself standing outside of the vampire's bedroom for the second time in less than 24 hours. The door was half way open, letting the light from the hallway brighten the dim room without revealing the private space.

Ivy had heard Rachel come down the hall with a purpose in her step. Her witch hadn't left the church and they hadn't spoken about anything too personal in the hours since breakfast. Opening the door the rest of the way Ivy took in Rachel's tense form and did her best to relax her own posture, waiting for the witch to start the conversation.

"What did you want for dinner? I was thinking some sesame chicken and a salad." Rachel felt her heart rate start to increase as nerves started getting the best of her.

"Sounds good, can we hold off on it until tomorrow? Glenn called and I told him we could catch a movie. I'll even pick up some of those tiny mushrooms you like salad while I'm out." Ivy watched as Rachel moved two steps back and briefly brought her arm around her middle before dropping it back to her side.

"Yeah, sure, tomorrow, I've got leftovers anyways." It really wasn't leftovers so much as the dinner Ivy cooked that no one ate seeing as she was out on a run and Ivy had trusted her to show up or call as conformation she was alive. She couldn't exactly blame her roommate for declining when Ivy had a standing invitation from someone that didn't push the woman than pull back the moment she reacted.

"Rachel," Don't do this to me. The words were there, but they would be of no use. "I'll be back by breakfast." Why there was no doubt that she very much loved the witch, she just hated that Rachel wouldn't never truly understand. Maybe if she begged and pleaded with her that might change. God knows reasoning with Rachel never did her any good. The problem was that begging was just as manipulative as dumping pheromones in the air. Whatever heartache it might save her it wasn't worth a lifetime of wondering if Rachel actually chose her, or simply gave in to spare her the pain.

"Sure Ivy. Go enjoy your date." Rachel moved back down the hall towards the kitchen without a glance back at Ivy. As long as she didn't look towards Ivy she wouldn't do anything stupid, such as start an argument about something she had no right to argue about.

As her witch moved out of sight Ivy put the finishing touches on her makeup, distracting herself from the urge to wrap her arms around Rachel. It was more than simple comfort, the idea that her aura would heal Rachel, protect her when she most vulnerable, had been at the forefront of her thoughts for months.

There was nothing to compare it to that didn't fall far short of explaining it. She had tested the reaction between them literally hundreds of time and each time she could feel it. Maybe it had always been there, but now when she brushed against Rachel, or gave her a quick hug, there was something connecting them that went beyond the physical and emotional levels.

Having exactly the 45 minutes it would take to go from the church to the theater, with leaving the car at Matthew's then dealing with traffic, Ivy closed the door, leaving her previous thoughts there for when she returned, and started on the process of exiting the church. "Rachel, I am heading out. My cell is on and the contacts list is on the same sheet as the schedule."

Ivy knew Rachel could hear her, but when she didn't get a response she stopped and waited. Rachel's opinion of Glenn was obviously at the heart of Rachel's sudden behavior, but what that opinion was Ivy couldn't exactly understand. Her witch had never shown anything except a general fondness for Glenn, but lately she had started picking up feelings of disdain from Rachel that lingered in the room for a while after Glen's name entered the conversation.

Resigning herself to being a few minutes late and double checking on Rachel Ivy wasn't surprised to find Rachel moving between the fridge and counter, doing her best to pretend she had been purposely ignoring her. That wasn't unusual, but got her attention was the smell of depression on the air that had mixed with Rachel's scent. Given the witch's typical reaction to anything relating to ether of their personal lives was anger and confusion the more subdued emotion surprised her. "Rachel, if something comes up please call me."

"Sure Ivy, no problem." The seconds clicked by as Rachel starred at her roommate, who just stood there, before she turned her attention back to reheating the food and Ivy crossed into the backyard, which was odd, closing the door behind her with a soft click. The sound left Rachel wanting to scream at the woman to turn around and talk to her. It seemed like a curtsy to talk to someone when less than 24 hours ago had been pinned to a door, but instead her roommate was off to spend her night with their supposed friend to do things Rachel didn't want to think about her doing with the stupid cookie.

It wouldn't help to start pushing Ivy though. She had tried that a few times in recent months and the most she got was Glenn had become a regular benefactor for Ivy's controlled instincts and somehow a nymph named Daryl ended up as Glenn's roommate. All that had taken months of awkward conversations she wasn't inclined to repeat.

Neither the dinner alone, nor her plan to simply let the world drift by as she simply relaxed on the couch alone, had helped improve her mood. There was the lingering thought that being alone might be the problem, but that was the general point of a shunning. The only break in the routine came from the miserable Saturdays spent in the ever after. The obnoxious landline making its presence known drew her attention away from the supposed comedy on the TV and towards being told by whoever was on the other end they would call back later. "Vampiric Charms, Rachel speaking."

"Ms. Morgan, its Jason Fleece, you cleared out one of my properties yesterday."

Rachel felt the melancholy start to fade from her system as adrenaline and fear kicked in. Fleece Properties was the name on the check that had been deposited in her account just in time for several other companies to take most of it out. If there was a problem her bank account would end up deeper in the red than a hole in the ever-after. "The warehouse where the warlocks weren't paying for rent, right?"

"That would be the one, yes. I am sorry about that incident with the door. We had no idea they were going to react violently."

"No problem. All part of the job." For once her life Rachel kept the stupid comment on the tip of her tongue. Fleece Properties was a human company, according to Ivy's research, but one that owned several industrial development projects in the Hollows. There was no chance in hell someone from the company had tried to find out anything about the squatters besides that they were interlanders. "I already signed that liability waver if that is what this is about."

"No, no, nothing involving lawyers. In fact, I need your firm's help again at the same warehouse."

"More squatters?" Going for round two of guess the interlander species trying to kill you with inanimate objects didn't sound that appealing, but the previous check did include enough hazard pay that Jenks would get his rent on time.

"Actually it's the same ones. After an inspection of the property an employee found a room in the unfinished section of the warehouse that he said was covered in symbols. I don't have a very good description as after he opened the room he started to have trouble breathing."

"Warlocks are capable of creating lethal traps if given the time needed to work them into place. I hope you stopped your searches after that." More times than not warlocks would end up killing themselves rather than spelling anything effective enough to drop a trespasser and if they had done it right the police would already be involved. Still, most humans didn't know that and collecting two paychecks for one job didn't happen very often.

"I assure you no one has gone further than the gate since the room was found and even that took some convincing. The accident wasn't fatal, simply an overreaction, but I would like it investigated all the same."

"How quickly do need this done?" Reaching for the pad of paper and pencil, Rachel felt the cobwebs clear with the thought of actually being able to pay cash for something without first getting the cash from Ivy.

"I know its last minute, but if your firm could confirm the site as safe before six I could have crews back to work by the afternoon."

It was already late in terms of business hours, plus six in the morning was a terrible hour to be awake for most interlanders, but Ivy had been going on about needing repeat customers and a scared human with deep pockets seemed like someone that should go on their mailing list. "I could meet someone out there in an hour, but it would be an emergency call. Our hourly rates double and if there are any active spells there will be a cost to disarm them."

"I look forward to seeing you there in an hour than Ms. Morgan." With that the call ended and Rachel left the unmarked paper on the couch as the remnants of her dinner were hauled into the kitchen. Some property manager too terrified to move beyond a chain-link fence sounded dull. A CEO wanting to make sure everything goes according to schedule why wondering around a property with possible active wards sounded like work.

Smiling as she set the dishes in the sink Rachel looked towards the garden. Being one in the morning Jenks was asleep, but the sooner the job was over the sooner she could curl up in bed. The brief debate of letting him rest and going out alone ended before it could begin. On the off chance furniture wasn't the only deadly thing the rogue practitioners had access to pixie back up was a good safety precaution.

Setting up the coffee maker before heading back towards the section of the church where the bedrooms were Rachel set her phone on the dresser and grabbed some clothes. A quick shower and a coffee to go would have to suffice in place of an early night in bed, but it beat just waiting around for Ivy to return home.

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><p><strong>There it is, chapter 3. Took longer than I expected as there was something missing and its only been in the last couple of days I figured out how to pull it all together. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed (even those that did it anonymously thus preventing me from sending rambling replies to them) put this story on their favorites and set alerts. I've really enjoyed writing this pairing thus far so don't be surprised if I contribute some more stories to the Hollows fandom revolving around Ravy while working on this one. <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

"Clear." Rachel had grown to hate that word over the last slow two hours of wandering around with detection amulets and coming up with nothing. There were worse ways to make rent, but even the pixie on her shoulder was showing his irritation over how dull the run was.

All that was left on their map was the central building where the warlocks had been held up with its scary magic room. Though it wasn't fear of some trap that kept it on the bottom of her to do list, assuming the detection amulets were working they would stop her from triggering anything, but according to the blue prints there were no gas lines or water pipes running from the room.

The three idiots together probably couldn't spell arrest warrant. Unfortunately though idiots did have a tendency to revel in their own stupidity by summoning a demon and being an expert on both Rachel had stalled until the sun was fully up. The fact that a demon hadn't shown up when the warlocks had to leave was a good sign. With guilt by association being a popular crime to charge her with all it would take was it getting out that she was in the same room as another demon, even it was trying to kill her, to make sure the prison sentence would be a lengthy one.

Shining a light into the room Rachel understood why the uncooperative manager was keeping his mouth shut. No one, not even a human, looking at the room would see the place and pass it off as teenagers screwing around. There was a dull sense of another shot hitting home about her place in the world upon recognizing the layout for summoning a demon. The chalk symbols formed the basis for a ritual she knew by heart and all it needed was personal touches required then it was goodbye existence and hello being tricked into slavery by a demon.

It didn't look like they had actually used the circle to hold anyone, but with a few candles and the invocation someone else could. Either she had severely underestimated the warlocks or they had been in one place long enough to arrange some help all why avoiding security until 48 hours ago. "Jenks search around. Something's not right here."

"A human offers you a check after you wander around a warehouse with a demon circle in it for a while and you just now figured that out? Tink's a Disney whore Rache, but even she got paid in advance." As the pixie took off into the open space of the warehouse, Rachel moved further into the room.

"Shit." Now she had to tell her human CEO client that a demon circle was on his property, if he didn't know already. Either way she had a feeling both payments would disappear, even though the two jobs were separate, before he called the I.S. screaming that she had summoned demons on his property.

Leaving the room Rachel headed towards the gate where her employer had been before she started the search. Not all that surprising the bright headlights of the company car were gone. There was no one at the gate, but someone had shut it and the entire place suddenly looked more like a prison. "Crap on toast. Jenks we've got a problem!"

Rachel looked around, but the property offered no signs of relief from the sudden panic. The place was only lit by an occasional security light and there was a definite intimidation effect from remembering the sign on the fence. Electricity didn't agree with witches any more than it agreed with humans or pixies.

"Tell me about it witch, there is a current running through the fence and I think the generators are underground." Jenks was spilling enough red dust to leave a momentarily visible trail. The fence was only about ten feet high, an easy thing for a pixie to fly over, but that was ten feet more than she could manage without getting fried.

"I know Jenks. I'll get us out of here, just give a minute." There was a good chance a ley line spell could melt the fence, electric or otherwise, but why would someone try to trap a witch with something so easily defeated? "Call Ivy, tell her something went wrong and to get here quickly."

"Call Ivy? That's your escape plan? How about blasting a hole and leaving?" As the pixie arranged their rescue Rachel edged closer to the fence. There was something running through that fence, but the odds that it was just something as mundane as electricity got lower the closer she got to it.

"Jenks someone is using the fence to store something and I don't think it's just to save on electricity."

"Phone's not working either and there is a caravan heading this way." At that moment everything clicked into place and with the dust spilling from Jenks clearly her partner understood it as well.

"They weren't expecting me to have backup Jenks. You need to get somewhere with a cell signal, then go back to the church and fill in Ivy on everything that happened."

"No fairy fartin' way witch. If they don't know I'm here all the better. Just put up a bubble and I'll do the rest." A surprise attack by the pixie with a sword in his hand could ruin a demon's day before they could blink, but leaving a pile of bodies anywhere near a summoning circle wasn't going to help her reputation any.

"Jenks, for we all know this is a set up by the Coven and they aren't going to take any chances on you and Ivy simply summoning me to the church. Call Ivy, you make sure she's okay, and then go to your family." Officially she had months before her hearing and they were going to leave alone until then. Though, at the moment, Rachel didn't have much faith in that arrangement.

"Damn it Rachel. If you survive this Ivy is going to kill you and I'm going to help her." With that the pixie vanished over the fence as the gray dust settled over it for the briefest moment. Then she was alone. The cars were just coming into her hearing range, barely a low rumble, and all she could do was wait for them.

Rachel hefted her bag further up on her shoulder and checked her detection amulets. Sure enough someone had primed the fence. It wasn't registering as lethal, but that didn't make it witch friendly vampire approved either.

Ivy. She had left the church without calling her roommate, despite her half-ass promise not to do exactly that. The woman would be hours behind on any plan to save her butt by the time Jenks actually explained what happened. Ivy's interest in her body staying intact for reasons that went beyond work and friendship really was a lifesaver at times. Naturally her thanks came in the forming of turning that appreciation into something that tormented Ivy and made her feel guilty for caring about her more than anyone else.

The arrival of three cars and slow opening of the gate pulled her from her thoughts. With the precision that could only come from experience the convoy had stopped with an equal space between the cars, but not enough where she could drive either of the closest two without needing to work at it and cause some serious body damage.

At least three cars only equaled four men and the keys were most likely left in the ignition. "Hi guys. Thanks for showing up. Someone closed the gate and forgot they had a witch in here."

"Sorry about that. There was some mix up in communication. Mr. Fleece is waiting for you at his home and has already arranged an extra payment as compensation."

"Great, maybe why he's at he can explain why his warehouse was getting ready to open as a demons-r-us store." As the gate slid back without any obvious movement from the four goons Rachel fought the instinct to step backwards. They were not going to scare a witch with some technological trick, even if it was a really good one.

"I can assure you Mr. Fleece has no intention of harming any interlander and that your coöperation will be most appreciative. After you walk out of the meeting your account will have enough money in it for you to retire by the time the sun is down. Mr. Fleece is very generous with his employees and likes to reward good work. He'll also be able to answer all your questions and ease any misunderstanding from this."

Rachel felt her day going from bad to worse. They just had to send a chatty kidnapper, wonderful. "Wonderful. I hope that includes medical because I've been hauling this bag around for hours and these charms aren't light."

All she needed was a few feet and Mr. Friendly graciously gave her six steps forward before reaching out with a smile on his face. Not smart. "Thanks." She dropped the bag before getting a lock on his extended wrist and pulling him forward. A knee to the groin didn't drop him, but the crunching sound of his nose and a kick to his tibia seemed to prove too much as poor Mr. Friendly would need to learn to breathe out of his mouth and walk on crutches for a while.

Apparently not big on the idea of her leaving her alone of the strong, silent, ones rushed at her. The other two didn't seem inclined to get involved, but seeing as the one that did was about 185 pounds of idiot Rachel backed up closer to the fence. It wasn't an ideal situation, but Mr. Not So Friendly had taken off at a run from the second car back and whatever he did to fill out the suit didn't include a lot of cardio as his speed slowed why his breathing quickened.

She had nowhere to go but whether it was some urge to impress the boss, or simply a rookie mistake, he closed the minimal gap with whatever energy he had left and swung at her. In a boxing match she would be dead, but they weren't in a ring and this was about survival.

Dropping down Rachel grabbed the tie the idiot was wearing and pulled. Anyone shorter and they might have just ended up on the ground, but the man's instinct told him to put his hands out and electric fences don't react well to being touched. There was the sound of a cord being shoved into the wrong outlet followed by a light pop and on the ground was one less problem.

Rolling away from the sound collapse of dead weight Rachel looked back at where the other two had been only to find a rather large boot obscuring her view. It wasn't so much of a kick as it was trying to stomp her head into the ground and all she could do was turn her head as it connected.

The ground was soft though and big foot kept his boot on her face instead of following it up. When he went to push her over Rachel grabbed the ankle and pulled it against her. It wasn't much, but a stalemate of neither of them being able to move was better than getting kicked again. The plan to let him make the mistake, or exhaust himself, would have worked perfectly except his friend decided to show up.

As if she weighed nothing at all the disappearing, reappearing, man pulled her away from big foot and broke her hold in the process. Before she had time to think and create a circle something struck her on her ribs and the world ceased to exist for a moment as she went to scream only to choke on the air. Unfortunately the three strikes that followed over the rest of her midsection did nothing to help her breathe and the world drifted into the black.

Whatever was going to happen next Rachel wasn't going to make it easy. However, being dead weight didn't mean much as the two men grabbed her up and slammed her face first into the hood of a car. The damage that had been to her was making it impossible to tell if they were molesting her, or searching for something, but either way it stopped when a phone started ringing.

If her phone was ringing that meant Ivy was calling. Beautiful Ivy. She would have had no trouble taking the idiots apart and walking away from the fight with a smile at their attempt to kidnap her.

Unfortunately it wasn't her cell as one of the two still standing took the call and wandered off out of hearing range to where Mr. Friendly was trying to stand on one leg right up until the bloodied man got on the phone and settled on the ground. She was trying to watch their interaction as whatever the phone call had meant it had them arguing when a burning feeling on her neck got her attention.

It lasted only a second before Rachel saw the empty syringe join her face on the hood of the car. The pain eased and as she took a deep breath the world didn't seem so bad. Rachel even smiled as she thought about Ivy. They had pierced her skin, Ivy wouldn't like that.

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><p><strong>I really cannot say thank you enough to everyone that has reviewed, altered or put this story on their favorites list. I know the update took longer than expected and I apologize, but a good ending for this chapter wasn't showing up and the next chapter really seemed weird without it. Hope it was worth the wait. <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing Rachel noticed was the pain in her arms and legs. As her head cleared, she realized there was a reason for the pain. Some jackass had strapped her legs and arms to a chair, which was far too short and excessively narrow for her to sit comfortably on even without the restraints. Her knees were completely bent and her shoulders had been forced around the metal back of the chair with her upper body struggling to stay upright.

Naturally, her reaction was to thrash against the bindings and refuse to accept that the effort wasn't going to help until she physically couldn't keep going. As light spilled into the room from behind her all Rachel could do was wait as her head sure as hell wasn't going to spin around on her shoulders. Given the room wasn't likely equipped with its own electricity Rachel wasn't surprised when the door stayed open seeing as her imprisonment had clearly been well thought out.

"I have partners you know. They're going to notice I'm missing." Rachel let the anger keep her focused on yelling at people she couldn't see. Jenks would have gotten out of range of whatever was blocking cell signal and immediately called for backup. Of course, he wouldn't have idea where she ended up but it was a good start.

"That they will, initially at least, but there is a taxi crossing state lines as we speak with a driver that has no reason to doubt his passenger when she says she is Rachel Morgan on her way to a much-needed vacation on the eastern seaboard. After all, you just paid down your credit card balance and left the church far too early for them to know you were gone. It's almost as if you intended to spend a while away without worrying about an income or giving anyone a chance to talk you out of it." The man smiled as if he had reassured her that the world was a wonderfully cheerful place and paid no attention to her sharp glares or her efforts to kick him.

Rachel, despite knowing the restraints wouldn't give, wanted nothing more than to pummel the jackass, only to have her restraints flinch slightly but otherwise stay in place. "That's your plan? Get some woman to take a cab out-of-state and just let everyone assume I've simply run off? Can't you pay people to come up with something better than that?" She wouldn't buy that crap story if it came with a potion that took off all the smut from her soul and Ivy definitely would never believe it.

Ivy. Crap. They didn't do well apart and she knew by now that her trail had gone cold otherwise there would have been a great deal of screaming and running. "They won't believe I just disappeared. Do you honestly think we don't plan for a situation like this?"

Okay so Ivy planned for similar problems and separately it might cross their minds that she ran off, especially given how things were between her and Ivy, but together Jenks and Ivy would focus on the facts. Moreover, Jenks knew there was a problem. Maybe not a Rachel had gotten herself kidnapped by a lunatic millionaire, again, type of problem but something would be enough to get things moving.

"I'm sure it is all very organized and your partners are deeply invested in your well-being, which is exactly why you're going to tell them you're leaving for a while."

"Like hell I am." Yes, argue with the crazed human in a windowless room likely surrounded by his entourage. Solid plan Morgan.

"I assure you that it will be much easier on them if you simply cooperate. When you have served your purpose here, I will even let you return to your church relatively unharmed and mentally intact. Otherwise your friends might become curious about your absence and I would be forced to put an end to that in a public manner."

There really seemed to be a contradiction between an asshole paranoid about their privacy and the willingness to have someone publicly execution, but Rachel kept that to herself. The death threat aimed at anyone that would be inclined to help her added details to the big picture that she had missed and suddenly she felt a bit panicked.

"Now, how much do your partners know about your work at the warehouse? Did you let anyone know you were going out there again?"

By now, Ivy would know everything Jenks knew and that would be enough to get them killed. "Hey, I might not have been your first choice, but I had plenty of other job offers on the table and I only took yours because I felt bad that warlocks were scaring people. In fact I'm supposed to be on a missing person's case, but your desperate plea for help and pending kidnapping charges got in the way." The large men in expensive suits all looked at each other and Rachel felt her gut tighten. Humans weren't that capable of detecting lies, at least not in comparison to vampires, or a charm, but experience and training could change that. It didn't help that she was lying her ass off. The missing person was a missing vampire girl Ivy was looking into on behalf of Cinci's master vampire and she wasn't supposed to get involved in it beyond asking Ivy about her progress.

After a minute she actually got her first good look at Jason Fleece in person and damn it if he didn't pull of arrogance in a custom tailored suit like Ivy pulled off leather with high heeled boots. Okay maybe not as good as Ivy looking like the walking definition of a femme fatale, but for a middle-aged human he looked good and that pissed her off even more.

"We'll have to agree to a compromise than. You will call your partners and tell them you are following a tip you received about an out-of-state coven of black witches and you will not be answering your cell, but they should not worry. In a few days, you will make another call telling them that you are making progress and will be home soon.

Once you have done a small favor for me, you can go back at your church without anything more than a few pieces of hair and drops of blood missing. The church will be safe, you will be financially independent for years and I can assure you that no harm will come to anyone that does not have blood on their hands. I have no interest in hurting those that are innocent and I can assure you what I need done will make you're corner of the world safer."

"Your concern is touching. The speech would have been more believable before you knocked me unconscious and had me chained to a chair." The Mr. Nice Guy act might have won her over before the kidnapping, but it sure as hell wasn't going to work after having her head smashed against the hood of a car.

"Strictly the work of hired hands that had their egos hurt when you resisted and they will be reprimanded for your mistreatment." Fleece offered a disarming smile before a simple movement of his hand had the witch's cell phone revealed from the pocket from one of the hired help. "Now, I'm sure your partners are worried sick about you so why don't you explain the situation to them?"

Before Rachel could say no again, one of the reprimanded assholes shoved a wireless headset into her skull until finally accepting it wasn't going to go any further and started dialing the church with the phone already on speaker.

The phone in the church started ringing just as Ivy walked into the sanctuary with the thought it wasn't pacing if she if she kept her plans divided between the kitchen table and their living room coffee table. A quarter till 9 it was a bit early for business, but it wasn't the thought of a customer that stopped her feet. It was strange, but she could swear the land line always seemed more agitated when it was a certain witch calling home and that was the sound reverberating through the church.

Waiting until the answering machine switched on Ivy moved the phone off the hook. As soon as the receiver was next to her ear Rachel's voice came through the other end. The relief that Rachel was alive was overwhelmed by the fact that if the witch was calling the church something was seriously wrong.

"Hey Ivy, you were right. My missing person is a runway. Instead of helping find her, I think her friends have been tipping her off. I've been standing outside the apartment building for three hours, freezing my ass off, and there is no sign that she was ever here to start with." Standing in a room with six people who could easily kill her there wasn't a lot Rachel could say, but Ivy knew her better than anyone else and she was counting on that to offer an edge.

"Well I hate to say I told you so, but I warned you not to believe every tip you got from a teenager." Despite Rachel's attempt, Ivy could hear the strain in the witch's voice and it made her want to sooth the witch. "You've been caught so up in that run of yours for a while, how about we have a nice dinner out, just the two of us? It doesn't sound like you're going to be getting her back tonight anyway." Ivy moved over to the notepad, but left the pencil sitting silently against the paper. She couldn't risk the sound until she had more information.

"I've still got a few more leads to check out. About the other night though, I know you were just worried and I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner." They really needed to talk things out if she ever managed to avoid getting in these situations.

"Don't worry about it. I should have trusted you to manage things on your own. I'm not even going to ask if your maps really need to be taking up half the kitchen or if you need three stashes of spelling supplies stashed around the church." Ivy didn't want Rachel to apologize, not over the phone. Not when she was going to make sure that no matter what the witch would do it in person.

Shit. Ivy was letting her know she had circled the wagons and they were readying everything to lead a siege and bail her ass out. That was a peachy idea except for the slight problem of her kidnapper killing everyone she ever knew if that were to happen. "No. I was being a pain in the ass, but please just leave everything where it is for now and I'll sort it out in a few days."

"A few days?" She was Ivy Tamwood, she terrified other vampires, and if anyone saw her shaking as she held onto a phone as if her life depended on they still probably wouldn't believe it. Hell, there were still days she didn't believe it. "You're not going to bother coming home to change or pack?"

"Not really an option. Why I was really looking forward to spending the rest of the night listening to the brood sing Jungle Book songs, I am going to check out some leads outside the state. I've got my bag with me so I'll just pick up whatever I need on the road." Rachel found the need to breathe winning out against trying to get out as much information as possible, but she couldn't stop herself from one last personal indulgence. "Are you going to be okay, Ivy?"

The scene in the church was getting more despicable with each passing second as tears slipped down her cheeks in addition to her using both hands to hold the damn phone. Ivy fought the urge telling her to hang up and just run, leave everything behind, and hope she was running towards Rachel. "I'll be fine. Since you can't get home, just name the place and I'll meet you there."

Rachel knew what her roommate was trying to say, but she'd be damned if she was going to drag Ivy into the hell she had brought on her head. That church was Ivy's home and if something happened to the vamp to where she couldn't go back to it there wasn't any sense in her surviving what was ahead of her. No, as long as she could do something about her situation Ivy needed to stay out of it. "It's too late to bother with anything else. As it is the cab driver has already started to bitch about the delay and I'm pretty sure he is going to leave my ass behind if I don't get going."

Ivy felt her knees starting to give out, but if she sat down she would be lost. Her legs would never cooperate well enough to get up off the couch and walk out the church. Rachel didn't need someone who was useless and scared, not when the witch was being so stubborn. "It's not late at all. I could catch up with you in the city and I'll find you a red-eye to fly out there if necessary. That would leave us plenty of time for dinner. I could even clear my schedule and we could handle this run together."

Rachel could tell the room was getting tense; the phone call had gone on too long. Ivy was overreaching and the last comment came off as rather desperate even to her. The call had to end, which just left the problem of trying to find some great way to do that without getting them both killed. "It's okay Ivy. When I finish this case I'll come home and we'll have plenty of time where can tell me about everything I missed. Just stay inside the church, there is no reason for you to waste your time chauffeuring me around."

"Rachel," What was she supposed to say? Sorry I couldn't protect you? That just seemed both inadequate and likely to get the witch killed. God, how she needed her witch to tell her everything was going to be all right. How many times had Rachel forgiven her mistakes why sparing her pride? How many more times could she expect that to happen before Rachel simply got tired of forgiving her? She had failed her so many times and it seemed the only reason the witch kept her around was sympathy. Rachel was too kind to break her heart by telling her how useless she was and that was why they could never be together. "You'll come back?"

Rachel felt her heart race at the desperation in Ivy's voice and she froze. It was only the sudden shift from the others in the room that brought home the reality of what was about to happen next if she didn't hang up. God did life suck. "I always come back home Ivy." Rachel heard the line go silent before the vampire could respond. Someone took the headset off her head and after a moment of hushed conversation, the bright light disappeared as the door quickly closed behind her.

Left alone in the dark Rachel felt her lungs start to work again as the sounds from stairs grew distant. They had bought it. She had saved Ivy and Jenks from her own stupidity. All that was left was saving her own ass and figuring out how she was going to explain everything to Ivy.

If the vampire was truly listening she must have heard the delay, the change in her tone, the reality that separated them from what she said for the benefit of the audience from the truth. Ivy would know others were listening and so she would undoubtedly bury it beneath the facade she so often carried herself with, or it would kill her, and Rachel was going to make sure neither happened. All she had to do was explain everything and Ivy would be okay.

In one brief phone call her life had been turned on its head. If she was going to survive there was no room for misunderstanding. She needed Ivy to understand that she accepted their relationship completely, that she wanted to come back to her church, to Ivy. It was shitty timing to let Ivy know she wanted more, but facing imminent death without an escape route had a funny way of focusing her thoughts.

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><p><strong>So after a long absence I've actually started working towards finishing this story up. I hope that it won't take too long as I have a fairly good idea of where I want to take things and how to wrap it all up. Thank you to everyone who has read this story and I really appreciate all the favorites, follows and reviews.<strong>


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